


Early Train to Granville

by E350tb



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Australia, F/F, Train AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb/pseuds/E350tb
Summary: Two women meet on a train.
Relationships: Amethyst/Peridot (Steven Universe), Ruby/Sapphire (Steven Universe)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 16





	1. Tuesday, 11 January

**Author's Note:**

> Very special thanks to [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors) for proofreading!

Peridot stood on the platform of Mount Victoria station, examining the electric locomotive in front of her train. Early morning sunlight filtered down onto the Blue Mountains, making the Tuscan red-brown paint and yellow highlights appear especially dusty. The number - 4620 - was crisply printed above the headlamp, and Peridot took note of it in a little flip book.

_46 class electric locomotive no. 4620._

It was the beginning of a whole new life for Peridot. She was fresh out of uni and ready to start a brand new career in the burgeoning field of computers. The only trouble was finding housing - Sydney was expensive; even the dwellings near her office in Granville were out of her price range. Mount Victoria in the mountains was in her price range, but it meant a two hour train trip there and back every day.

She muttered to herself as she stepped down the platform, counting the carriages. _One, two, three_ \- she climbed into the third and hurried to an empty seat towards the back, leaning against the window. Before long, there was short _hoot_ of the engine, and the train was rumbling out of the station, bound on its long journey down the mountain and into the city.

Peridot sighed wearily as she ran her hand over the window - there was a thin layer of dust on the glass, indeed on just about everything in the weary old carriage. Maintenance on the New South Wales Railways was never great, and it seemed worse lately. Everything seemed tired and run down; just like she felt, so early in the morning.

Blackheath sailed past, then Medlow Bath, and before long the train was slowing as it reached Katoomba, and more were climbing aboard. Peridot continued to gaze out the window, trying her best to look anti-social, and for the most part, people were content to leave her be.

For the most part.

“This seat taken? Cool.”

Peridot jumped, partially from surprise and partially from the seat squeaking and bouncing as the other woman sat down, smiling as she reclined on the leather chair.

“Hey, the seat’s pretty clean today,” she said brightly. “Normally you have to wipe ‘em down before you sit.”

Peridot rubbed her hand on the leather - when she lifted it, there was a fine but noticeable layer of soot on her palm. _Great._

“So, what’s your name?”

“Mmm,” Peridot grunted wearily as the train pulled out of the platform.

“Hiya, Mmm, I’m Amethyst!”

Peridot turned to give her a tired glance, but her retort caught on her lips.

The woman was short and pudgy, with long hair that covered one of her eyes. But her cheerful, short of mischievous smile and the twinkle in her eye struck her, and she found herself momentarily lost in her visage.

Also she was well endowed.

“Hey,” said Amethyst. “You’re kinda cute, you know that, Mmm?”

“Um…”

Peridot rubbed the back of her head.

“I-I’m Peridot,” she stammered. “I, uh, I’m a programmer down in Granville.”

“Ah, you work on one of ‘em computer thingies!” Amethyst nodded. “Like with uh… what’cha call it, the thing with the dots… like tennis…”

“Pong?”

“Yeah!” Amethyst snapped her fingers. “Like Pong!”

Peridot couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“No, my programs are mostly for banks,” she replied.

“Aw, _lame_.”

Peridot snorted. “So what do _you_ do?”

Amethyst shrugged.

“Work in construction, building stuff in Sydney,” she replied. “It’s sorta what the whole family does. We build or join the army. Y’know, heavy labour stuff. Got a couple’a sisters on that big aircraft carrier, _Melbourne_ , and my oldest sister Jasper’s working on that West Gate Bridge thing down in Victoria, which is pretty neat.”

“Didn’t that bridge collapse?”

“Yeah, _seven years ago._ She only started working on it in ‘75. That’s like a billion Prime Ministers ago!”

“Four.”

Amethyst raised her eyebrows. “You counting?”

“Gorton, McMahon, Whitlam, Fraser.” Peridot counted them off on her fingers. “Four.”

Amethyst chuckled.

“You’re a real nerd, aren’t ya?”

Peridot frowned, and opened her mouth to reply.

“It’s pretty cute.”

Justifiably taken aback, Peridot blushed and looked down at her feet. She heard Amethyst laugh, and diverted her gaze out the window once more.

They were quiet for a while as the train snaked down the mountains - past Wentworth Falls and Lawson and Springwood and Valley Heights, and down past Blaxland and through the Glenbrook Tunnel. The sun rose higher and higher in the sky, and golden light highlighted the gum trees by the line. Passing trains sailed past - goods trains with tired brown engines, passenger trains bound for the central west, and eventually grimy, steel double-decker commuter trains and older ‘red rattlers’. Amethyst didn’t say much, but occasionally she’d shoot a smile Peridot’s way; each time, Peridot would blush and bite her tongue.

At last they sailed through Emu Plains and over the Nepean River into Penrith, the gateway to Sydney. The train was getting full now, and there was no sitting room left. Peridot watched a couple of short women take their place by the door, one short-haired and one long-haired; if it were possible to engage in intercourse through staring, these two would be in the throes of passion.

“Heh, check out those two,” Amethyst whispered. “That’s some pretty intense eye-”

“Yes,” nodded Peridot. “Indeed.”

“You ever… you know?” Amethyst made a circle with her left hand and mimed inserting her right finger.

Peridot frowned.

“Yeah, sorry, too personal,” nodded Amethyst. “Sorry, I guess we tend to be pretty open in my family.”

“Hmm.” Peridot pursed her lips. “Not so much in mine.”

Ever onwards they went, past Blacktown and Wentworthville, and through the big station at Parramatta where many got on and off. The short haired member of the couple jumped off, discreetly kissing her partner goodbye. Then it was only a short hop to Granville, and Peridot got out of her seat, getting ready to alight.

“This your stop?”

Peridot shot Amethyst a meaningful look.

“Yeah, standard question,” nodded Amethyst. “Maybe I’ll see you on the way back up the mountain, huh?”

Peridot glanced to the window, watching the train rumbling to a halt at the platform, and then back to the grinning form of Amethyst.

“Yes,” she said. “Maybe you will.”

* * *

Work, as it turned out, was something of a drag.

Her supervisor was a short and officious woman named Aquamarine, who seemed to take a perverse delight in belittling her employees. The guy in the office next to her kept popping in to share conspiracy theories, the water cooler was broken, and to top it all off, she had no working fan. By the time she headed back down to the railway station, she was tired, cranky and more than a little regretful that she’d taken this new job.

Oh well, money was money.

When the train back up the mountains arrived, it was already bursting at the seams. She squished herself onto the train, forced into a corner by the door, and sweated in the artificial heat of the carriage as the train rattled back to Parramatta. There, mercifully, a lot of people got off, and she was able to slip into a seat before another crowd streamed on.

“Small world, huh Peri?”

Peridot jumped - she had sat down right next to Amethyst.

“Uh… Amethyst!” Peridot rubbed the back of her head. “Hello again!”

“How was work?”

Peridot opened her mouth, about to give an empty platitude, but something stopped her. How _had_ work been? Didn’t she want to complain about it? But this was a stranger, and surely she couldn’t… but the temptation…

“Awful,” she replied. “Completely awful. The guy in the office next to me kept coming in and telling me stuff about aliens and the CIA and stuff - all I wanted to do was program, and he’s just there _yammering on_ about _Roswell_ and _the lizard people_ and…”

The train rattled on; back past Penrith and over the Nepean, back up through the Glenbrook tunnel and past Blaxland and Valley Heights. Above it, the sun began to set; the sky was painted a brilliant red, and the train’s flickering lights turned on (and off and on and off - maintenance on the New South Wales Railways was never great.) And all the while, Peridot vented and vented and vented…

“...and Aquamarine manages to find the smallest thing wrong with the code, and she decides she needs to spend the next thirty minutes letting me know!” snapped Peridot. “God, what a bi-”

“Man, these people really ticked you off, huh?”

Peridot trailed off, turning to Amethyst. She was leaning against the window, smiling.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we’re past Wentworth Falls,” replied Amethyst. “You’ve been going since Parramatta.”

Peridot bit her lip, blushing.

“I just… I had a bad day,” she muttered.

Amethyst laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder. For a moment, Peridot winced - but her hand felt nice, warm, _safe._

“Yeah, dude,” she said. “We all do. Just get it off your chest, huh ‘Dot?”

“‘Dot?”

“It’s a nickname.”

Peridot nodded.

“Thanks, uh… _Ame._ ”

Amethyst laughed, slapping Peridot on the back - her glasses nearly flew off her face.

“Man, I like you Peridot,” said Amethyst, as the train slid into the platform at Katoomba. “We gotta do this again sometime.”

She got to her feet, and Peridot glanced around. The train was nearly empty now - where had everyone gone? It was nearly dark now, the carriage intermittently lit by the interior lights - where had the evening disappeared to?

“Hey Peri!”

She glanced to the door - Amethyst was getting ready to step out, her arm raised in a wave.

“See ya tomorrow?”

Peridot blinked and smiled.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Looking forward to it!”

Amethyst gave her a thumbs up and stepped off the train, the door closing behind her. The guards whistle blew, the engine tooted its horn, and the train slipped off into the night, bound for Mount Victoria. Peridot sat back, closing her eyes and smiling, and immediately lowered her palm onto a cockroach scurrying over the leather seat.

She very briskly stopped smiling.


	2. Wednesday, 12 January

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very special thanks to [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors) for proofreading!

_46 class electric locomotive no. 4605._

Peridot glanced up from her flipbook as the train pulled into Katoomba. It was another pleasant morning in the mountains, although the weather forecast predicted a hot day in the Parramatta area, and she certainly wasn’t looking forward to that. All thoughts of sweltering in an office vanished, though, when Amethyst strode in.

“Hey, Peri, good to see ya again!”

She grinned and almost sat down.

“Amethyst, wait!”

Peridot pointed at the grubby seat, and Amethyst snorted, pulling an old rag out of her jacket.

“Man, that’s filthy,” she said. “I mean, I’m not exactly a neat freak, but… ew.”

Peridot pursed her lips. Maintenance on the New South Wales Railways was never great, and neither was cleaning. The new management were really letting things get run down - apparently cleanliness was an unnecessary frill. No wonder people were turning towards cars and buses.

Amethyst wiped down the seat and sat down, and the train rumbled out of the station, heading slowly down the mountains.

“So what’s with the notepad, ‘Dot?”

Peridot jumped, and hurriedly packed away her flipbook.

“It’s nothing!” she replied. “Just… work notes.”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow but said no more. She sat back, putting her arms behind her head, and glanced across the carriage - the train pulled into Wentworth Falls, and a few people climbed aboard.

“You ever people watch, Peridot?” asked Amethyst.

Peridot glanced away from the dirty window. “No, I normally look out the window. Don’t want to miss any tr- I like the scenery.”

“Fair enough,” nodded Amethyst. “But see that skinny chick over there?”

She pointed to a tall, lithe woman, sitting up almost absurdly straight a little way up the carriage. She was dressed all in black, demurely facing forward, her long nose her most striking feature.

“That there’s someone who wants to mourn,” said Amethyst, “but feels like people won’t let her.”

“What do you mean?”

Amethyst absently played with a lock of her hair.

“Up until a few weeks ago, she was up in car one with her friend - big woman, friendly, big jugs,” she said. “They go up there ‘cause you can smoke in the first carriage. Last week, they disappear - this week, she’s alone and acting like that.”

“Well, how do you know-”

“Read the obituaries last night,” replied Amethyst. “Rose Quartz - died last Sunday of pneumonia or something like that. Still raw, I bet.”

Peridot frowned, glancing back to the window.

“I… don’t feel good about people watching her,” she muttered.

“Okay, let’s find someone happier!” said Amethyst, rubbing her hands together. “Lanky guy in the back corner, see him?”

Peridot glanced back. A tall, skinny boy, barely out of high school, was slumped in the very back chair, his bag thoughtlessly dumped in a heap on the seat next to him. A near permanent scowl was painted on his face.

“That guy,” explained Amethyst, “has been pining after the cute blonde girl at the front for months.”

She pointed to a short, chubby woman sitting near the front door, talking to a taller black woman about something or another. They were smiling and laughing, and every laugh seemed to make the lanky boy scowl just a little more.

“Huh,” said Peridot. “Why doesn’t he just-”

The taller woman pecked the shorter woman on the cheek - she blushed and giggled.

“...oh,” said Peridot.

“Yeah, dude missed his chance in November,” nodded Amethyst. “But he still tortures himself.”

“This isn’t really _happier_ ,” said Peridot.

“Nah. It’s funny though… oh, that guy in the red suit…”

It continued like this all the way down the mountain - Amethyst would point to someone and tell her seatmate what she’d noticed about them in her time on the train. Peridot found herself getting into it, asking deep questions; “How do you know he’s a politician?” “What’s a Jehovah’s Witness?” “No, that guy doesn’t work for the railway, his uniform is wrong.”

Before long - far before Peridot realised it - the train was jerking around the curve towards Granville station. Reluctantly, she cut off Amethyst’s observations about a balding man with a loud tie and got to her feet.

“I guess this is my stop,” she said. “No idea how it came up so quickly…”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, man,” replied Amethyst. “I’ll see ya around, huh?”

Peridot gave her a small smile.

“Looking forward to it.”

* * *

It had been another bad day at the office. Peridot had found all the same problems as yesterday, except this time she’d had to deal with the sweltering heat as well. To top it all off, Aquamarine had insisted on making everyone attend a twenty minute fire safety lecture, and she’d had to run to get to the train.

She just about made it in the door before the guard blew his whistle. The train rolled out of the station, and she found herself looking around for company; she abruptly stopped herself. She’d never felt the need to do this before…

“Hey! Hey, Peridot!”

Amethyst waved her hand from a little way up the carriage, and Peridot squeezed her way towards her. Amethyst extended her arm, pulling her new friend into a hug as she held on with her other hand. Peridot blushed, squirming.

“Oh, heh, sorry, forgot some people don’t like that.” Amethyst drew back and rubbed the back of her head.

“I-it’s okay, just… unexpected,” replied Peridot.

Amethyst studied Peridot’s face - her eyebrows shot up.

“Dude, you look like a mess.”

Peridot sighed.

“It’s been a below-average day,” she replied. “My boss is _insufferable_ , and I don’t have a desk fan.”

“Sorry to hear that, broski,” nodded Amethyst, patting her on the shoulder. “A bad boss can really kill your day, y’know? I had a supervisor once; Holly something - god, she was a pain in the ass. Acted like she was the king of the yard, you know? Anyway, one time one of my sisters tied her to one of the cranes, and… ooh, hold on.”

She yanked Peridot to the side into a newly free seat. Peridot winced - the seat felt decidedly _greasy_.

“So,” she said, trying not to put her hand on the leather surface beneath her, “You work in Sydney? What’s it like?”

“Oh, you’ve never been?”

Peridot shook her head.

“Hmm…” Amethyst scratched her chin. “It’s big. Noisy. Whole lot of traffic, which means there can be a whole lotta smoke. People don’t get outta your way when you’re walking, especially the rich people, because they think they’re better than you. A lot of it’s pretty dirty, too. There’s this big railway yard at Darling Harbour and it makes a lot of noise.”

She sat back and sighed.

“But the harbour - the real harbour, past the bridge - that’s beautiful.”

She shrugged.

“You see much of the mountains yet?” she asked.

“No,” replied Peridot. “I pretty much just moved in and started going to work.”

“You ever get the chance,” said Amethyst, “go check out the lookout over the Jamison Valley. It’s amazing; you can see this rock formation, they call it the Three Sisters, and when the sun hits it _just right_ …”

She chuckled.

“Just give it a look one day,” she shrugged. “You won’t regret it.”

The train sailed onwards, out past Penrith and up into the hills, and she found herself making small talk to pass the time. It baffled her - she’d never really made small talk with anyone, but for some reason the words came easily with her new friend. Everything else seemed to vanish - the rattle of the train, the brief darkness as they snaked through tunnels, the setting sun illuminating the train in a slight golden light, even time itself.

There was a hoot from the horn and a glimpse at a station sign labelled ‘Katoomba,’ and this isolation from the world ended. Amethyst got up, smiling down at her as she moved towards the door.

“See ya tomorrow, ‘Dot,” she said. “Good talking to you again!”

Peridot blushed, smiled and waved as Amethyst slipped out the door.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “You too.”

The rest of the way up to Mount Victoria, she stared out the dusty window into the increasing darkness, lost in deep thought about little nothings.


	3. Thursday, 13 January

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very special thanks to [realfakedoors](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realfakedoors/pseuds/realfakedoors) for proofreading!

**Thursday, 13 January**

_46 class electric locomotive no. 4613._

Peridot pursed her lips, looking down at the flip book. Quickly, she jotted down a note.

_Unusually dirty - they’ve really given up on cleaning the engines._

She sighed, putting the flipbook back and sitting back as the train rolled into Katoomba. She couldn’t help but admit to herself that she was looking forward to seeing Amethyst again - she’d never really had anyone to talk to. After all, _mother_ had insisted-

The door opened, and Amethyst walked in; instead of her normal smile, she was scowling, her fists clenched. She sat down on the seat without even wiping it down, the old chair creaking and lurching as she impacted the leather. She immediately buried her head in her hands and let out a muffled scream.

Slowly, Peridot spoke up.

“What’s up?”

Amethyst looked up, visibly seething.

“This absolute _bastard_ didn’t show up for a date with my little sis!” she exclaimed. “Carny’s been waiting all week for this, and he just… didn’t show!”

“Maybe something held him…”

“Nah, nah, ‘cause we went and looked,” replied Amethyst. “Thought something might’ve happened, but you know what? He’s out by the pub with his friends - and some… _side chick_ he hadn’t told Carny about! So we got mad and yelled at him, and then Jay threw a punch, and _right at that moment_ the cops show up, and…”

She punched the chair. There was a long silence - Wentworth Falls rattled past, then Valley Heights. At last, Peridot worked up the nerve to speak.

“I-is your sister okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, Jay’s been in the lockup before,” replied Amethyst. “What happens now depends if that _cockhead_ decides to press charges. Because you know, they didn’t see _him_ fighting. And even if they did, they won’t throw the book at a rich kid.”

Peridot bit her lip, searching for the right words.

“I… I’m sure the police will…”

“Nah, you don’t get it, Peri,” sighed Amethyst, running a hand through her hair. “Everyone gets taught to think that, like, your parents, the cops, the government, they’re the Good Guys. But you know what the truth is? Cops are just there to enforce the law; the law written by the rich people and their friends in Town Hall and Parliament House. The whole damn world is designed to be their playground, and the police exist to make sure nobody touches their toys.”

She took a long, deep breath.

“Sorry,” she grunted. “I get all cynical when I’m mad.”

Peridot gave her a small smile.

“It’s okay,” she replied. “How’s… Katie?”

“Carny?” Amethyst blew a strand of hair out of her face. “Pretty broken up. It was supposed to be a nice last night out before she moves out, and that dickface ruined it. Think she’s more mad than upset though. She’s got a temper.”

She chuckled.

“She’s gonna be just fine.”

She shrugged.

“We’re gonna be fine, man,” she said. “We always are. Family looks after family, y’know?”

Peridot stared for a moment - a moment too long, she realised; she cleared her throat and nodded.

“Yeah! Good old family!” she said. “Gotta love that family!”

She grinned a little too wide and quickly turned back to the window, entirely unwilling to continue the conversation.

They continued on in awkward silence as the train crossed the Nepean and entered the outer city. For a while, Amethyst looked concerned, and Peridot tried to force herself to look at ease, and to force errant thoughts from her mind - there was no need to dwell on mother right now, she thought. Just push it down, find something, _anything_ else to think of.

Before long they were on approach to Granville, and Peridot winced as the train screeched along the curve just before the station. Here the line curved through a cutting and under a small road bridge, and Peridot always had to hold on to avoid sliding into Amethyst. Today she lost her grip, and roughly fell into Amethyst’s side.

“Ow!”

“Whoa, careful there,” said Amethyst, smirking.

“Ugh!” Peridot stood up, fists clenched. “They’re taking that curve too quickly!”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. “Do they?”

“Yes!” Peridot replied crossly. “We took that bend at at least ten kilometres an hour quicker than the optimal speed limit! It’s because we’re on the main line into Sydney Central - the government lets trains take this faster to improve traffic flow, but it’s not-”

She trailed off. Amethyst was looking at her, smiling, her arms crossed. Peridot couldn’t help but see it as a slight smirk.

“...uh… not that I’d know anything about that…” Peridot rubbed the back of her head and glanced out the window - the train was sliding into the platform at Granville. “ _Weeelp_ , here’s my stop! I’ll see you tonight, Amethyst, goodbye!”

She was off like a rocket, out the door and onto the platform before Amethyst could reply. She didn’t stop until she reached the steps up to the footbridge - she pinched the bridge of her nose and cursed as the train slid out of the station, bound for Strathfield.

“Idiot!” she snapped. “Idiot, idiot, _idiot!_ ”

She shook her head, sighed, and climbed the steps, bound for another bad day in the office.

* * *

“Hey, Peri, I wanna show you somethin’.”

Peridot jerked up, startled. She’d been almost dozing in her seat as they trundled back past Parramatta and Penrith, trying to forget another long, hot, annoying day at work. As she turned, she saw Amethyst bending over, reaching into an old bag and rifling through it.

“What is it, Amethyst?”

“Hold on… sorry, it’s in here with my work gear… aha!”

Amethyst pulled out an old photo book, slightly dog-eared and with a large grease stain on the cover. Peridot pursed her lips, bewildered, as Amethyst shot her a knowing smile. She began to rifle through the pages, looking for a specific spot.

“My oldest sister used to work around Broadmeadow when I was a kid,” she said. “Took a lot of pictures, should be… here!”

She opened the book right up so that Peridot could see. Her eyebrows shot up.

The first picture that caught her eye was that of a big green steam locomotive sitting on a turntable outside a large roundhouse, other steam engines quietly steaming in the shed’s births. The engine shimmered in the sunlight, the paint picked out with yellow lining, and she could just about make out the number ‘3813’ on the buffer beam and cab. Her eyes lit up.

“Oh, wow, that’s 38… uh, I mean your sister’s a pretty good…”

“You don’t have to hide it, Peri.” Amethyst smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “Trains are cool, man! You should like ‘em.”

“Well, I… um… they’re sort of a…” Peridot coughed. “A man’s thing.”

Amethyst paused for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Is that why you’re so shy about it?” she asked. “Dude, trains are for everyone! What, you think they check for a dick every time you go to a railway station? They won’t even put up for maintenance, never mind a freaking penis patrol!”

Peridot blushed again.

“I… that’s a good point,” she nodded. “But I was told…”

“Whoever told you that you couldn’t like trains is an _idiot_.”

Peridot pondered for a moment.

 _“Peridot, get away from that thing, it’s filthy! You’re my daughter, and I won’t have you-_ ”

She smiled.

“Yeah!”

She turned back to the album.

“So your sister worked on the railways?” she asked.

“Yeah, Sharky drove engines for a while,” replied Amethyst. “Used to say she liked the… Pigs? So she must’ve driven past a lot of farms…”

“No, no, a Pig is a type of steam engine, like that one!” Peridot pointed to another engine, this one black, chunky and rather squat. “They’re actually the C36 class, but they got called the Pigs because of the sound they made and how they looked.”

Amethyst nodded.

“Yeah, I can see it,” she said. “They’re kinda cute! I always liked the ones with the weird fronts, though; what ones are those?”

“Garratts - AD60 class. They’re pretty neat, but _nothing_ beats the streamlined 38s…”

She carried on, Amethyst smiling and asking questions as they went through the album, ignoring the passing scenery and the setting sun as the train rumbled back up through the mountains. It was freeing - finally, someone was willing to listen to her talk about 32s and 35s and 55s and 44s, all without getting bored or telling her that trains were unladylike. Indeed, Amethyst seemed impressed that she knew so much, and the twinkle in her eye made Peridot’s heart flutter, ever so slightly.

It wasn’t until she felt a hand on her shoulder that Peridot’s her train of thought was halted.

“...so they had problems with that, but maintenance on the New South Wales Railways was never great, and-”

“This is Katoomba, ain’t that your girlfriend’s stop?”

Amethyst snorted as Peridot blushed, quickly thanking the lanky boy as she climbed to her feet. She reached to grab the album, but hesitated.

“Keep it,” she said. “There’s a whole bunch more pictures I think you’ll like.”

“But these are family pictures!” exclaimed Peridot. “I can’t-”

Amethyst winked and scurried off the carriage, barely getting out the door before the guard’s whistle blew and the train lurched out of the station.

Peridot sighed, smiled and looked down at the album, running her hand over it. There was a long silence.

“Wait a minute!” Peridot stood up and shoved a finger in the lanky boy’s face. “She’s _not_ my girlfriend!”


End file.
